Pop Songs: Music & Melody
The below is taken from a chat board that is long since gone, and was part of a much larger post string. I’ve aggregated the “good bits” to create an easier read and added a few embellishments here and there. Thanks to Jason “The...6 Essential Songwriting Books On Melody
Melodies are the messaging highway of your song. They help maintain the interest of your listener (like scenery along the route), give your lyrics either winding winding road, super highway or country road to deliver the story, and much like a road system have turns,...6 Essential Songwriting Books On Rhyming
Rhyming lines is a fundamental component of songwriting and song craft. Doing it in a way that doesn’t sound contrived or predictable can be hard, but once mastered can help you create great song. While I love rhyme, don’t let it drive your song lyrics...Tip To Match Line Length In Verses
Line length is a key element of any song. Without knowing how long your lines are, you risk making your verse melody lines different. Since the whole point of verses is to sound melodically the same, this can be a big problem. You’ve probably had someone tell...Song Outline Worksheet: Stripes
Brandy Clark’s “Stripes” One of the things I’m not so good at is the song’s story. I tend to get a little too focused on the rhyme pattern and imagery, and sometimes don’t work through the song story as thoroughly as I should....Learn The Parts Of A Song For Success
Updated 2/20/19 The parts of a song are important to understand because they are the skeleton you’ll drape words and music on it to create a compelling song. Knowing how to construct the basics can move you quickly to a better song. Song structure is one of the...Song Key Conversion Site
There are a few sites on the web that allow you to either copy and paste the chords, or find the song in their library, then select the key you’d like it in. Chordie.com has a pretty nice repository of songs, with lyrics, guitar tab, and neat little sidebar...Nashville Number System Made Easy
If you’ve recorded in Nashville, you’ve run into the Nashville Number System. While I could explain it here, there are quite a few resources that can do it much better. So instead, I’ve gathered up some online tools, books and videos to help you...Setting A Scene With A Moment
In addition to co-writing Trace Adkins hits “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” Jamey Johnson won a CMA Award for co-writing George Strait’s “Give It Away.” His song “In Color” is a great example of setting a scene within a moment of...Song Idea: Poem & Song Compared (Part III)
Song Idea Finale Now that we’ve looked at several aspects of both the song and the poem, we’ll put together the final pieces to help understand how the same idea can be presented so differently. The primary difference between the two ideas is the point...Direct Address: Sting “Be Still My Beating Heart”
I’m currently helping a friend with a set of lyrics, and something very interesting came up. The song is direct address, but not to a person. I know, you’re thinking, “OK – that’s personification and at some point will just end up being...Song Idea: Poem & Song Compared (Part II)
Song Analysis Of The Song Idea! I used the Song Analysis exercise to get a better handle on what is going on in the song and the poem. Hopefully, this will help me better understand how the song idea and poem idea are the same – but different. Point Of View...Song Idea: Poem & Song Compared (Part I)
Song Idea – Is It An Idea? One of your biggest challenges as a songwriter is finding an original angle on a song idea. In his book Tunesmith, Jimmy Webb makes a great observation about what a song “idea” is not. “The following is not an idea:...Adele “Chasing Pavements”
A recent comment on the blog got me thinking. The comment was downplaying the songwriter’s lyrics, mentioning they sounded as if they were written by a 17 year-old, because, well, they sort of were. Song Start: The song was inspired by a bar room encounter...No More $900 For Pitchable Demos!
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